The Heartbeat After
by Platonic
Summary: Ghost hunting wasn't meant to be an ethical question, but that was before halfas existed. Now faced with the truth, Valerie is going to have to make some moral calls and Danny Fenton better learn to keep up. Set before, during, and after PP.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the show Danny Phantom. This is a fan fiction and is in no way a reflection of the thoughts or intents of the show's creator or producer.

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It had been a long night. A very. long. night.

Danny Phantom phased through the wall of his human half's bedroom and allowed himself to change forms as he fell into bed. It felt good to let all his aching muscles relax. Although he obtained most of his injuries in ghost form, it still hurt him when the battle was over.

"Dani's stable, Val and I have reached another compromise, and Vlad's cloning days are through," Danny folded his hands behind his head as he looked to his ceiling. "Hopefully Vlad won't be able to mess with Dani now that she can actually fight back."

When Danny saw his 'cousin' melting . . . the thought of it horrified him. Losing was a feeling Danny could handle, but someone dying? Even if she was a clone, Dani wasn't a mindless mess of ectoplasm; she was family. When he thought he had lost her; it was a pain he couldn't quite put into words. All he could say was he hadn't felt like that since the time he thought his family had blown up with the Nasty Burger. Another very dark memory.

"This is all getting to be too much," Danny shut his eyes, telling himself it was to help him concentrate and not to hold back tears. "What if I end up losing someone . . ."

Tonight had been the second time he'd almost failed at the expense of someone he loved. He knew he couldn't be there for all of them all the time. Due to his ghost powers he had enemies, and because of being human he had loved ones; was there a way to have one without risking the other?

"What am I thinking?" Danny sat up. "This city needs Danny Phantom; it's Vlad who's causing all this trouble, not me." The teen tried to assure himself as he rose from his bed and pulled his pajamas from his dresser. He needed to get some sleep; self-loathing wasn't going to solve anything. . . but maybe pie would. Danny knew there was a pie in the fridge and, if he were quiet enough, sweet victory could be his.

Danny slipped into his night clothes and began his trip to the kitchen. Each stair seemed to screech out as Danny did his best to lightly place his feet.

"Great," he sighed. "Even my own house is against me." If it hadn't been for the new ghost detection system specifically monitoring the kitchen, Danny would have gone ghost by now. Instead he'd have to sneak a midnight snack like a regular teenager.

The living room was clear; a quick tiptoe across the room. The kitchen was dark save for the red lights attached to every appliance. Danny couldn't see much, but he knew the first red dot was the microwave and the second was the one on the stove; the fridge was within arms reach of that. The fridge light would be soft enough to not alert a certain nosy busybody, but would give him enough light to grab a plate and fork.

Unfortunately, Danny's dream could not be realized.

"Where have you been?" Jazz's sudden voice scared Danny intangible, which of course set off the Fenton Fudge Ghost Protector. The kitchen began to sound an alarm loud enough to wake the whole neighborhood. Jazz could only sigh in disappointment as her little brother resumed full human form as fast as possible. "Danny I can't believe you!" Jazzed managed to yell over the alarm.

"Why are you lurking around at two in the morning?!" Danny tried to retort, but he could barley hear himself.

Suddenly the alarm stopped and the kitchen light flickered on.

"Stop right there you fudge stealing ecto-scum!" Jack Fenton stood in the doorway aiming some form of ecto-ray at Danny; still dressed for bed, but ready for action.

"I was after the pie; only the pie!" The teen threw his hands up in immediate surrender.

"Yeah, way passed your curfew," Jazz snorted. Clearly she was trying to take a jab at his ghost hunting. Even though he'd explained to his sister a thousand times that he wouldn't always be able to tell her when he'd have to go, Jazz's overprotective tendencies could never be pleased.

"Oh," Jack lowered his weapon. "Sorry Danny, I thought there might be a ghost in here. I guess there are still a few bugs in the new system."

"Do we really need an alarm on the fridge, Jack?" Maddie Fenton groggily came in behind her husband. "It's clearly too hard to set it to only recognize ecto-energy, and I really don't want to get up every time someone touches the fridge."

"Maybe, or maybe Danny scared the spook when he-"

"Get rid of it, Jack," Maddie frowned.

"But-"

"Tomorrow," Maddie crossed her arms as her husband walked out defeated. She then put on the best smile she could muster for her kids at such a late hour. "You two should really be in bed. Hurry up and get a snack." She headed off to her room after her husband.

Danny went about getting his pie. He knew Jazz would lecture him no matter what, so he might as well have something to eat while it happened.

"So what was it tonight?" Jazz followed the boy around the kitchen as he made his snack. "A ghost army, Vlad planning another take over, Skulking hunting you for food again?"

Danny couldn't help but smile at that last one. She'd get it right eventually.

"Look Danny, I want to help you, but you have to call me or something when you're going to be out this late. Mom and dad aren't going to believe you go to bed early every Friday night. Besides, what if something happens to you? I won't know where you are."

"Jazz, something's happening to me every night," Danny took a bite; perfection. His mom had really outdone herself this time.

"Exactly!" Jazz threw her hands in the air and began pacing the kitchen as she ranted. "Tonight you could have been killed! Not even Sam and Tucker knew where you were. Danny you can't act like this. You may be half-ghost, but that doesn't make you indestructible."

Danny smacked his forehead. Sam and Tucker, they must be wondering what happened to him. Oh well, they knew he was with his cousin . . . still, they'd probably be surprised when they heard about the rest of the night's events. He hadn't meant to blow off his friends, but, at the time, the night was shaping out to be a dull one. To be honest, it was for the best that they weren't there; Valerie would have seen a connection between the three of them in a heartbeat.

"Chill Jazz, Sam and Tucker knew who I was with. I've been in bigger jams than tonight."

"What do you mean?" Panic entered her voice.

"Relax, Vlad was just trying to mess with Dani again."

"The clone of you he made," Jazz took a seat across from Danny, ready to make as many mental notes as possible. Such a dedicated 'Ghost Getter.'

"Don't call her a clone. Anyway, Vlad had hired Va . . .a ghost hunter to capture her. Which she did." Danny didn't want to mention Valerie being a ghost hunter to Jazz just yet, it would only cause the 'mother bear' more worry. "But I convinced the ghost hunter that Dani was good and part human. Together we saved Dani and escaped from Vlad's mansion. No prob."

"And this ghost hunter was okay with Dani being half-ghost?"

"Well," Danny didn't really get a chance to ask Valerie how she felt about it. She didn't seem too off-set though. In fact, she and Dani seemed to get along in the end. But Valerie was a ghost hunter after all, and to her Phantom was still full ghost. "I'm not really sure, but I'm certain Dani will be safe."

Jazz still seemed skeptic about the whole story. Danny could tell she could see right through his downplaying it, but, for the moment, she was letting the issues rest.

"Danny, I just want to know you're safe."

"I am."

"Just don't get in over your head okay; ask for help."

Danny nodded, though he couldn't help thinking about how dumb her words sounded. Who was he supposed to go to, her? Jazz could hardily aim the Fenton Thermos let alone aid him in a serious battle. . . he wasn't being fair. Jazz had proven herself more than once. He knew his sister could pull her own in a fight and that she had his best interest at heart. Still, in his defense, there wasn't any good time to stop and call her to let her know he was alright. Jazz needed to learn that.

Jazz left Danny to finish eating. She seemed unhappy with their conversation, and of course made sure to show it on her face as she left. Danny sighed.

"Thanks for guilt tripping me out of an appetite," Danny pushed the plate away from himself as he glared back at where Jazz had been. "If I lose sleep over this . . ." Danny mumbled flicking off the lights as he left the kitchen, joining the rest of the city tucked in and asleep.

Only the graveyard shifters were still awake now, and even they were nodding off at their posts. If it hadn't been for the street lamps Valerie was certain she wouldn't be able to see her way home. In the darkness of 2:20am, even the stop lights seemed to loose their color. Of course it could be due to the fact that she was tired and disappointed.

Valerie just wanted to get home as fast as possible. Valerie tightly shut her eyes to prevent her tears from spilling out into her helmet. It wasn't that she was sad, in fact, she couldn't have been any angrier than in that moment. She had been lied to and used, and she swore she'd make Vlad pay.

Valerie heaved a sigh and tried to focus on guiding her board home without detection. Even with it being so late, her father was known to check on her in the middle of the night. He had grown all too wise to her sneaking out to go ghost hunting. She could only hope tonight he was still asleep in his armchair.

Valerie rode silently through the city, slowing as her building came into view. It was clear, even through the tint of her helmet vizor, that the lights were on; her dad had noticed her missing. Valerie had to fight the urge to curse especially at her father, even if he couldn't hear. He was only trying to protect her and she understood her father's stand against her ghost hunting. Still, tonight, more than any other, Valerie wanted nothing more but to go home and rest. She wanted to get her mind off of ghosts and in the morning have breakfast with her dad and just pretend to be a normal teenager living with normal problems and not having her whole world flipped on its head for the second time that year!

"Why can't you just leave me alone!" Valerie pulled off her helmet and threw it toward her bedroom window. Before impacting with the glass the helmet vanished; a facet of having a suit in-tune with her body. She stood, breathing heavy. She couldn't go home, not yet. She had to calm down from the night's events before she could face her father.

Valerie closed her damp eyes and allowed the helmet to materialize back in place. She'd go . . . it didn't matter where. Any place but there would do. The board roared to life at her heart's command and Valerie was gone. Her mind raced with so many false memories, so many facts that didn't line up. The ghost dog that ruined her life, the millionaire that made her feel powerful again, the ghost boy who exposed her, the perfect relationship she had to give up, the hurt of her father not supporting her . . . and the hurt of disappointing him. On top of that her grades were slipping, her dad was growing intolerable of her behavior, and now she'd learned there were ghosts that weren't really ghosts . . .

At this moment it was possible that everything she knew about ghosts was a lie, meaning . . . maybe everything she had become was a lie. After all, isn't ghost hunting what Vlad had wanted her to do?

"Whoa!" Before Valerie had time to think, the board underneath her began to shake. Suddenly her suit began to fade in and out and her altitude began to plummet. Valerie found she could no longer hold the concentration needed to keep her suit activated. "Come on work!" Valerie struggled trying to get her footing right on the shifting board, but no matter what she tried the board would not respond. She felt a rush of panic overtake her; she had lost her "motivated" resolve.

The ground wasted no time in its advance. Valerie abandoned any hope of reactivating the suit and began surveying a safe landing spot. It appeared like she might be falling into the city park; though all the twisting and spinning the board was doing was making it hard to tell. Maybe she could grab a tree branch. If she were near the east entrance of the park the old oak tree would have a perfect life saving limb for her to grab. If she could make out this being the northern part of the park she could jump into a pond or . . . the Box Ghost?

"Beware!" The paled figure swooped in right beside the falling girl with the scariest face he could muster.

This wasn't the rescue Valerie was expecting, but she planned to use the ghost's presence to her advantage. The bumbling specter had come right to Valerie's side just as her board and suit vanished. Without a moment's hesitation Valerie reached out and grabbed onto the ghost's leg. Her added weight pulled the ghost down a bit, but soon both were floating safely in the air.

"What are you doing!?" The Box Ghost began to wiggle hoping to shake the girl lose. "You're supposed to be scared of me, not hugging me!"

Valerie knew it was only a matter of time before the ghost went intangible, leaving her to what looked to be a seven-story drop.

"Uh," Valerie combed her mind desperately for an excuse. "I, I am scared." She lied with a pleading smile. "I was so, frightened by you that I, uh, felt like I needed, to hug something. I mean, you spooked me right out of the air."

"I am pretty terrifying aren't I?"

Valerie was thankful for this ghost's incompetency. It didn't even seem like he had noticed her change from her suit to a regular girl, which worked for her. Plus, it added to the irony of her night to be rescued by a ghost. It could only be more ironic if this ghost were half human too.

"Being I'm in such a state of shock and all, do you think you could put me on the ground so I could cover my eyes from such a scary ghost." She was laying the flattery on a little thick, but perhaps now wasn't the time to save-face. Honestly, the only thing scary about the Box Ghost was the thought that he used to be a person; a pun that only saddened Valerie. The Box Ghost, all ghosts, were molded after people . . .

"So are they still people?" Her voice seemed so weak to her. She hated these feelings.

"What?" Her rescuer questioned.

"Nothing, I'm scared." Valerie spat, just happy he was finally lowering her to the ground. Once she was placed down, Valerie felt confusion overtake her previous emotions. Here she was standing in front of one of the most incapable ghosts in the universe, and she could do nothing to capture him. She despised her helpless state. "Thanks." She uttered not knowing what else to do.

"You shouldn't be thanking me!"

The Box Ghost wasn't a very dangerous ghost, but it still wouldn't be wise to test him. The clumsy ghost rose above Valerie with his hands above his head. Apparently he was trying to make himself look more intimidating, and though flattery seemed the best way to escape without harm, Valerie dreaded what she was about to say.

"I'm just thanking you for not screaming at me again, because then I might have to run away from you all the way home, where there will be no need for you to follow because I'd be so scared at that point, and whatever." The words tasted like vinegar.

"Beware!" The ghost hollered.

"Ahh," Valerie spoke before turning and walking off into the park. She could hear the victorious laughter of the Box Ghost and it enraged her. "Don't get use to it, ghost." Valerie growled under her breath, her former anger flaring.

But then, Valerie stopped. That bitterness. She had never noticed it before; was she really that bitter? Valerie looked back at the Box Ghost dancing around. He was annoying, and clearly attempting to be a bad ghost if he wasn't one already, but, he just saved her life. Had he really just done anything deserving of a death threat; well, as close to a death threat as one could make upon the dead. He was simply a ghost, and as such Valerie had hated him for merely existing. Just because a few ghosts had crossed her, she hated them all. Dani had proven there could be at least a half good ghost . . . could all ghosts make that choice? Could they be rehabilitated? Was a ghost really just the remnant of a human or were they the actual spirit?

"Why have I never thought of this stuff before?" Ghost hunting had never been an ethical question for her. Ghosts were evil, mindless, lifeless; she shouldn't have to think whether it was right or wrong to hunt them.

Valerie placed a hand on her stomach as she suddenly felt sick. She quickly left the sight of the parading ghost and sought a nearby park bench. Valerie nearly fell on the ground in her haste to plop down on the wooden frame.

"I almost killed a little girl."

Tears began to form at the corners of Valerie's eyes as the events of the night washed over her.

"What if I hadn't listened to Phantom; I'd be the reason that girl died." Valerie would never have wanted to kill someone. She wouldn't have been able to live with herself. Hunting ghosts . . . hunting people . . . What kind of "hero" was she?

If Phantom hadn't warned Valerie . . .

So why did he have to ruin her life?

Swallowing the fact that Phantom might be a good ghost was only compounded by the fact that she had tried to kill him too. Her blind hatred could be costing people their lives, and she still wasn't sure about their afterlives.

How could she be so stupid!? No millionaire would give a 14 year old thousands of dollars worth of equipment! She was just so stupid!

Valerie banged both her fists against her forehead; she wanted to punish herself for her own lack of foresight. All the doubt was making her ill. She leaned forward and let her silent tears drop to the dirt between her feet. She rested her head in her hands and tried to process the feelings of hatred and guilt.

Vlad used her. She was one step away from being a murderer and it would be all that narcissistic, psychopathic, maniac's . . .

No, it was her fault.

Valerie sat up and wiped the tears from her eyes. Crying wasn't going to help; she couldn't let herself be that weak. Vlad had taken full advantage of her situation because she had been weak in the past.

"How could I be so easily manipulated, and by a ghost? I didn't even believe in them!"

Valerie knew what it was.

She'd leaped at the chance to take control of her life. She wanted to make things right for her dad yes, but mostly to get revenge for losing what she felt entitled to.

"Control; that's the only reason I became a ghost hunter."

It gave her power. _She_ defeated the ghosts, _she_ decided if they went free or not, _she_ had the power. It was just like when she was popular. It gave her the illusion that she could manipulate her world. Valerie wanted control over geeks and nerds and the less fashionable because it made her feel like she had a choice. Vlad's equipment made her feel the same. Since she couldn't boss around her peers, she'd take her frustrations out on ghosts.

Only this time Dani almost lost her life.

"I can't believe Vlad played me so easily," Valerie seethed. "Well, I'm not weak anymore."

A small smile found it's way onto Valerie's lips. She'd get Vlad. Still, she had to get her questions answered first. If only she hadn't let Phantom go. He might have been able to answer a few of her questions, now that she knew the right ones to ask. . .

"No, I don't want anyone seeing me like this, dead or otherwise." Valerie saw the the city's horizon lighten. Soon the sun would be up. "I'm gonna have to go home." She breathed as she rose to her feet. She knew she couldn't stay in the park, but after last night . . . what was she suppose to say to her dad.

She had to get these questions answered though, eventually. Aside from Phantom, however, there was no one to ask. She couldn't ask Vlad for help like she'd done in the past. Odds are everything he had already told her was a lie.

"If I have to see his face again I swear I'll alter it."

She wished Dani was still around. Who else could she trust with the truth about her ghost hunting . . . the idea hit her, but it didn't seem fair.

"I can't ask Danny."

. . . Not directly at least.

Valerie couldn't help but smile. There was a way to get her answers, and the risk would be minimal.

* * *

Author's Note: Thank you for reading my first DP fan fiction. I hope you enjoyed chapter one. Please leave a review if you did and constructive criticism if you didn't. This story will take place before, during and after the episode Phantom Planet. It's been a while since I've watched the whole series, so let me know if some of the facts don't line up with the show. I'll do my best to update once a month. Thanks again!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom and co. This is a fanfiction.

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It couldn't have been a lack of confidence; all it took for Amity Park's greatest ghost hunter to fail was a pinch of self doubt? Why did that even matter! No, she'd been nervous plenty of times before, what made her suit deactivate this time? If her passion was what drove the suit, board, and built in weapons, she hadn't lost that . . . not entirely anyway.

If being stuck in her room all Saturday had taught Valerie anything, it was to reevaluate everything. Ghost hunting, her suit, her motives; there was nothing safe from her scrutiny. Even the fact that she deserved this punishment. As much as Valerie hated being grounded, she knew she earned it.

"It's not going to stop me from sneaking out once dad leaves for work," Valerie huffed as she sat up in bed. "Just one more hour."

Valerie glanced at her watch, wishing she had the power to speed up time. She'd been in her room since she came home that morning around eight. She'd only left twice for the bathroom; though it was her own decision to skip lunch.

After thinking about all she'd been through the night before, Valerie finally was able to come home. The punishment wasn't too bad; being grounded for the week. She wished her father's disappointed look could be forgotten though.

Valerie's eyes drifted over to her unfinished book report on her desk. Maybe that would help her kill time. Valerie grabbed up her notebooks and spread them out on her bed. She got half a paragraph written before her mind refused to focus anymore.

"I wonder if there have been any other half-ghost, half-human sightings?" Were there more like Dani in Amity Park? Or even in the world?

Valerie rose and went to her computer. A quick internet search would let her know if others knew what she did. She was just about to turn the computer on when she heard her father's voice from the hall.

"Computer's off limits too young lady."

How did he know?! Valerie clenched her fists and sat back down in front of her work, to which she got a considerable amount done, though she wouldn't comment on the quality. Her mind just wouldn't leave the possibilities alone. Half-ghosts could be everywhere for all she knew and here she was locked away in her room. Even with her suit acting up she just couldn't abandon the idea of ghost hunting.

"Okay honey," Valerie watched her dad, Damon Gray, step into the room. "I'm heading out. I want you to stay inside tonight regardless of how many ghosts there are."

"Dad, I told you nothing dangerous happened," lies, but hopefully just white ones. "I'm a good ghost hunter, I wish you would trust me-"

"Valerie, you left without telling me where you were going!" Damon was clearly still angry with his daughter, he made no effort to hide that. He looked let-down and that was enough to punish Valerie, but the words continued to lash out at her. "I can't even trust you to tell me that much. I know you want to do this ghost hunting thing, and I wish I could support you, but then you have to pull something stupid like that. I might not be able to physically stop you, but if you leave tonight you better pray that all of heaven holds me back when you get home."

The man breathed a deep sigh at the look of his crestfallen child.

"It's because I love you, Valerie."

"I know daddy."

"These ghosts aren't playing around. They'll hurt you if they can."

"I know dad."

"The only reason I let you go patrolling is because you promised me if anything happened you'd contact professionals and come home." Damon sat on the edge of his daughter's bed and watched her study the pages before her. "Valerie, please."

The teen blew out of pursed lips before sending her gaze slightly above her father's head. She was trying to give him a stern look, perhaps one that said, "I'm able to take care of myself," but it came out saying something more like, "I can't handle your disappointment in me."

"I know you're getting good, I just don't want to come home one day, and you're, not here . . . I don't think I could, do that again." Damon's whole body felt like it was being stepped upon, and Valerie could see the strain it was putting on his heart.

". . . Is that how she-"

"Not today Valerie; just promise me you'll stay home."

Pause. Sigh.

"I have to go. Be safe." Damon left the room leaving a heaviness in the air.

Valerie became angry as she felt the tears trying to escape. She wasn't that weak.

At the sound of the front door closing Valerie was up out of her bed and on the computer.

"Half-ghosts, half-humans," She spoke as she began her search.

She came across several sites claiming there were half-ghost-monster creatures and a few claiming ghosts could become zombies, but nothing pertaining to ghost-human hybrids. That is, until she came across one of the numerous Phantom 'Phan' forums; the last place she would have thought to look, and coincidentally after last night, the place she should have started.

She couldn't be sure why this site came up. Maybe someone made a comment somewhere about Phantom being half-ghost. The link brought her halfway down the page to one particular comment.

A post by a person calling them-self 'Ghost_Getter1,' a dumb name by all accounts. The post was labeled "Why Amity Park?" The topic of the tread was about why people thought Phantom helped save Amity Park instead of a different city. An interesting topic Valerie was sure if experts were talking about it instead of fans, but the response was still catching enough for her. It read:

_ "It should be obvious that a ghost would want to stay near a place he has a connection to. Being Danny Phantom chooses to protect Amity Park shows that his human half must still have a strong tie there. Friends, family, things he loves are still there. He is merely transfixed with the familiarity of his life. He wouldn't help another city just for applause, because praise isn't why he's in Amity Park. His reasons are deeper than that." _

"His human half?" Valerie questioned. "Why would they say that? Why not say his past life?" Valerie began reading the tread from the beginning.

Fans argued the point that Phantom might have been a human in Amity Park at one time and that's why he stayed. Others claimed he did it just for the attention he could get in a bigger city. Regardless, all the other fans referred to him in a past tense, Ghost_Getter1 didn't. They made it sound like he was just as much alive as they were.

"Maybe I'm reading too much into this," Valerie read over the comment again. "They're all fans; they want to make him as human as possible." This lack of un-bais accounts was exactly why she never turned to the internet before for ghost-hunting tips. People with no idea what they were saying were able to blather on about serious topics. Besides, this was getting her off track. She was looking for ghost-human hybrids, not Phantom. . . never thought she'd think that.

Valerie couldn't help one more glace at the statement. This was the only lead she had so far. Maybe this person had a reason for referring to ghosts as 'living.' It was worth a shot. Besides, Phantom was the one Dani was looking for. If anyone knew about these hybrids it was Phantom and his fans.

Valerie couldn't believe she was doing this, but she signed up for an account on the site. Of course she picked a name nobody would suspect to be her, PhanLuver, so Valerie could enter the online conversation without a certain Casper High forum owning student finding out. Even though she wasn't friends with Paulina anymore, Valerie still cared about what the a-lister thought of her. It was the reason why Valerie had to hide the ghost-hunting, even from her now better friends. If the popular kids found out what she was doing, whatever was left of her social standing would fall. Especially since Valerie hated Phantom and Paulina was borderline obsessed.

Valerie sighed. She hated seeming that shallow, but she couldn't lie to herself. Impressing Paulina wasn't the chief thing anymore, but it was still on her priority list. Oh well, back to the task at hand.

Valerie started a new tread on half-ghosts, just to see what information would surface. She knew the responses wouldn't be too reliable, but maybe one of the fanatics would share something useful; hopefully Ghost_Getter1.

"Do half-ghost, half-humans exist?" Valerie read her title aloud. It seemed plain compared to some of the other more creative titles, but she wasn't trying to get points for originality. Valerie continued into the body of her post. "_Being there are so many ghosts in Amity Park, could some of them be half-human_?"

Now she was sounding crazy. She needed to make this sound Phantom related without giving out too much information . . . did it really matter? Dani was Phantom's cousin. He might be a half-ghost for all she knew; something that ran in his family. A whole family of half-ghosts!?

Valerie shuttered at the thought.

Maybe she should just ask about Dani on the forum, but she doubted any of them would really know. She'd only just found out about Dani. If the little ghost girl had been around sooner Valerie was sure she'd of heard of her by now.

"_Is it possible for a human to half die. This would make them able to have ghost powers, maybe even be a ghost, but still be alive. If this were true, they could live with humans without anyone knowing about them_."

Like Vlad had done.

Valerie glared at her screen at the thought of the man. She had to get some answers.

_"Half-ghosts would look and act like ghosts. They'd be able to go invisible, intangible and even have ectoplasmic readings when tested, but they could become fully human too. While human they would lose their ecto-signature and be just like a regular person. Does anyone know about this?"_

Valerie posted the comment. She'd just have to wait for responses. In the meantime, her father was at work until six tomorrow morning. She had the next eight hours to do some serious ghost hunting; starting with the right equipment and training.

o.

The Box Ghost had proven to be more slippery than Danny Phantom wanted to admit. He, Sam and Tucker had patrolled the park 15 times and still there was no sign of where he had gone. The ghost teen took a seat on the branch of the old oak. It was one of the tallest trees in the park and he was hoping to use it as a lookout point, and a place to rest.

"I know he's in here," Phantom held a walkie-talkie to his mouth. "Sam, Tucker, you guys got anything? Over"

"There's some boxes by the dumpsters," Tucker reported. "I think they were for the new playground equipment, but I don't see the Box Ghost anywhere. Over."

"I might have a lead," Sam spoke up. "I think I heard some screaming, I'll check it out. Over."

Phantom watched the device in his hand waiting for Sam to call back. Today had been pretty dull. The only reason Phantom was even wasting his time tracking the Box Ghost was to avoid listening to Jazz's many ideas on how to stay connected; coincidentally that was the same reason he'd 'forgotten' his cell phone. He wasn't even sure a ghost was in the park, but thanks to the reasons Tucker gave, Phantom had a good hunch the Box Ghost wouldn't be too far behind.

"Danny, ya there? Over." Sam's voice broke through his thoughts.

"Yeah, what is it? Over."

"A false alarm. Just a few kids from our school acting stu . . ."

"Are you guys ready to call it quits?" Tucker interrupted.

"Tucker! I wasn't finished yet. Over."

"Yeah, well I'm kinda _over_ staying out here. I'm gettin' eaten up by something. Over."

"Are you still standing next to the dumpsters. Over." Sam spat.

Phantom sighed as his friends fought for a moment. It seemed that every time ghost hunting got slow his friends would be more eager to fight. It made him wonder, what did they do before ghost hunting? They had been at it for so long now, it was hard to remember.

"Look, this is where the boxes are; if he were in the park, he'd be here. I mean really, Box Ghost, come on." Tucker finished as Phantom took control of the conversation again.

"Guys I think we've had enough," Phantom jumped down from the tree and resumed his human form. "It's almost 9:30; if he were here we'd of seen him by now."

"Great!" Tucker called back.

"Fine," Sam didn't sound as happy. "So what do you two want to do for the rest of the night; play video games until one in the morning? Over."

"Sounds like a plan to me. Over" Tucker could be seen running up.

Danny waved as his friends made their way back to him; both with two very different expressions on their faces.

"So what do ya wanna play first?" Tucker spoke up before Sam had a chance to voice her concerns. "'Running Scared,' or maybe 'Bite,' no, how about 'Doomed,' this way you can play too Sam."

"Doesn't it bother either of you that we haven't caught a single ghost all week?" Sam crossed her arms and glared directly at Danny.

Danny knew she was trying to get him to work harder. To be honest, he had gotten relaxed in his patrolling. There just weren't any ghost attacks happening. Well there were, but not from any ghost worth wasting the time to track down.

"It's just a slow week, Sam," Tucker spoke pulling his PDA out and shifting through his notes. "We should be happy we get the week off."

"Yeah, well I can't shake the feeling something big's about to happen." Sam sighed.

"Like what, the Box Ghost actually manages to scare someone," Danny couldn't help the joke being the Box Ghost was the only one around to capture.

"Don't forget he did manage to steal Pandora's box that one time," Sam retorted.

"Yeah, and she scared him well enough to leave her alone," Danny smiled. "Just be glad there aren't any ghost attacks." Danny watched the skeptic look on his friend's face. Sam wasn't happy about his words at all.

"Danny, you already took one night off of patrolling, you can't honestly skip out tonight."

"Hey, I never skipped out!" Danny defended. "I was with my cousin last night, you saw her."

"And I'm sure you two did loads of good last night," Sam was laying the guilt on thick, which made Danny feel better knowing he had spent the night fighting Vlad.

"Yeah, what did happen with you and Dani last night?" Tucker placed his PDA back in his pocket and started walking toward the park exit. Danny and Sam followed knowing their hunt was done for the day.

"Nothing much," Danny began weighing just how much of what happened last night was worth mentioning. He'd have to explain that Valerie tried to kill him again and that Dani was stabilized, but should he tell them about Valerie seeing Dani's human half? "Vlad was after her to try and study her again. He sent Valerie to get her saying Dani was trying to kill him. . ."

"Figures," Sam sighed to which Tucker chuckled lightly at the undetected jealousy.

Danny frowned. He knew this was one of those moments that family and friends would label him 'clueless' behind his back. He hated being on the outside of whatever inside joke that was.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Danny spoke hoping to bait an answer.

"It means Valerie can be fooled into doing anything."

"She thought she was chasing a ghost," Danny defended, already aware that Sam still distrusted the huntress.

"Forget it Danny," Tucker smiled. "She's mad at something else; finish your story."

Danny covered the highlights of the night making sure to point out that Valerie knew Dani's secret. Tucker and Sam shared a worried glance. Danny did his best to ignore it.

"I don't think Valerie knows I'm half-ghost," Danny tried to settle their fears. "If she did she would have capture me by now, don't you think?"

"All I know is you better play it safe around her," Sam sighed as the group stepped out on the sidewalk in time to see one of Mayor Vlad's many campaign vans drive by. The vehicle was covered with a large picture of the mayor along with his ever creepy slogan; 'The Mayor is Watching.'

Danny eyed the van with disdain. His friends followed his eye sight and also gave an unpleasant look.

"Elections aren't even happening?" Tucker observed as the van pulled out of sight.

"Sometimes I think he drives those around just to annoy me." Danny began walking again.

"Don't let it bug you, Danny," Sam commented. "Though he has been awfully quiet lately, expect for what happened with you and your cousin of course."

"You think he's got somethin' planned?" Tucker asked almost too quickly, though his companions had the same question on their minds.

"I don't know," Danny answered, his house coming into view. "Honestly, I'm more worried about him and Valerie than me at the moment."

The group stopped outside of Fenton Works. They could already hear the commotion from the basement. Apparently Danny's parents were testing another invention below; a loud roaring one at that. Danny wasn't sure if he wanted to know what was going on, and neither did the neighbors.

Just as Sam and Tucker shared a worried glance, the neighbor's door flew open. The elderly gentleman wore a thin smile as he waved to Danny. With the man's porch light being broken, the older man was only visible as a silhouette from the groups position, but the figure was all too clear to Tucker.

"Oh, I just remembered," Tucker fringed. "I have, homework to do. Catch ya later, Danny!" Tucker was down the street in an instant.

"Don't worry Danny," Sam placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "I'll go with you."

"That's only because you haven't met Carlos yet," Danny lead the way to the neighbor's stoop. "Good evening Mr. Car-"

"You're family's doing it again," the older man's smile did nothing to consulate not allowing Danny to finish, and now that they were stepping closer to the man, Sam could see why Tucker had run. "They're shaking the whole street."

The old man leaned forward on his cane and let his grin grow bigger, a grin with only 6 teeth remaining. To be honest, he looked rather creepy. His hair uncombed, his beard matted, and his clothes winkled and worn.

"When I was younger," Carlos began. "My family lived here, and we were never that rude. You're going to have to rebuild my house when it falls. I love this house. I don't love music, and not lions."

Sam raised an eyebrow and turned to Danny. Her expression explained it all, _is this man stable?_

"Carlos is getting old," Danny whispered to Sam, watching the man begin to rock from side to side. "Really old."

Danny tried to give a genuine smile to the elder man.

"Mr. Carlos, is your son home?"

"No, he's sold."

"What?" Sam asked not certain what the man was trying to imply. Danny was able to smile at her reaction.

"You mean he went to the store, or the pawn shop?" Danny offered.

". . . With the cat."

"Okay . . . I'll talk with my parents; get them to turn down the radio okay."

"Thank you Dan." With a wink the old man returned to his house, slamming the door with a surprising amount of strength.

Danny turned to Sam, doing his best to hold back a laugh.

"He just moved in with his son last week. He's a nice old man, just a little weird."

"Compared to him your family looks normal."

The two teens entered Fenton Works. At first glance the house was normal. Jazz was in the kitchen typing away at her laptop. She hadn't even noticed her brother and his friend enter until another roar erupted from the basement. Startled from her work, Jazz looked to Danny.

"There you are little brother," Jazz smiled then winched at yet another roar.

"What's going on down there?" Danny went to join his sister, Sam in tow.

"They were recording noises at some abandoned warehouse or something, and that's what they got. They've been listening to it all evening."

"Yeah, your neighbors are getting tired of hearing it," Sam came around Jazz to look at her computer screen. "What are you doing?"

"I think you'll both find this interesting," Jazz began just to be interrupted by the noise once more.

"Why don't I talk to mom and dad first," Danny spoke as he hesitantly made his way to the basement. At first the basement looked unoccupied, everything where it should be considering Danny hadn't done his chores yet. Beakers on the table, Ghost Portal closed, warning lights and sirens off, but then Danny saw where his parents were. Both seated at the Fenton Mainframe Computer. Mr. and Mrs. Fenton were playing back a recording of something . . . well, of course, a ghost, but one Danny hadn't heard before. The ecto-screams were deep in pitch and echoed worst than those in caves. Why his parents were choosing to listen to it that loudly was beyond Danny.

The teen covered his ears as Maddie pressed play on the noise again, she and Jack having the only set of earmuffs in the lab. The room shook and the speakers on the computer crackled. Finally the noise stopped and Maddie removed her protective ear gear.

"What do you think Jack?" Maddie fiddled with the computer program until the noise appeared as a visual read out of sound waves on the screen. "I had the computer analyze the sound at every possible pitch, speed and volume. Not even the Ghost Gabber knows what's being said. Do you think this ghost is really saying anything?"

She either hadn't noticed her husband was still wearing his earmuffs or she was using their presence as an excuse to think out loud, either way, Danny seized the moment to speak up.

"Um, mom?"

"Hey honey, what have you been up to?" Maddie rose from her seat and continued on without waiting for an answer. "You won't believe what your father and I got today."

"Acute deafness," Danny joked; his mother continued on without missing a beat.

"We actually recorded a ghost while conducting a trail experiment on one of your father's new inventions. We were trying to test the theory that ghosts can be affected, even controlled, through sonic sound waves. Apparently by emitting ultrasound into ecto-cold spots we were able to spook the spooks, so to speak." Maddie lowered the volume and played the noise again.

At the lower level Danny could understand better what kind of noise he was hearing. The ghost was screaming in fear, much like a freighted child. The teen frowned when he thought about it. If the ghost was remaining invisible and didn't attack his parents, it clearly wasn't of the evil sort.

"We'll be heading back to the warehouse tomorrow to see what other type of response we can get from it." Maddie, content with the information she'd gathered that night, switched off the computer.

"Isn't that kinda, cruel," Danny didn't like the idea of his parents unintentionally bullying ghosts. "I mean, if it's not hurting anyone . . ."

"It's only a matter of time before it does, Danny," Maddie warned, pulling the earmuffs off her husband. "It's just a ghost. It can't really feel anything. It cries out from a post-conscious memory of pain. Nothing more."

Danny frowned, missing whatever else his parents said. Dani had cried similarly to that ghost. . .

Danny went back upstairs, oblivious to the comments now being made by Jazz and Sam. He passed by without a word, leaving both girls confused.

"Danny!" Sam called after him, but the boy didn't turn around.

"Did anything happen tonight?" Jazz asked.

"Nothing worth repeating," Sam came back and sat with Jazz, too engrossed in her and Jazz's discovery to follow Danny just that second. "But I'm sure he'd be agitated with this. Where'd you find this anyway?"

Jazz smiled, it was good to feel like a useful member of the team.

"I joined this Danny Phantom fan site awhile ago. I think someone at our school started it. It's good to know what Danny's fan base thinks of him to help maintain a dependable public image."

"Paulina started it." Sam deadpanned.

"Yeah, but there are some pretty creditable people on here."

Jazz scrolled through the message of a new tread posted that evening. It had only been up for twenty minutes and it had already accumulated multiple posts. Sadly none from the person who started the conversation. Jazz had been reading through it, adding her opinion every so often, to make sure no information was shared that might hurt her brother. She was happy Danny and Sam had come home early. She wanted to share the forum with them and gather their thoughts on the severity of the topic.

"Why. . . how would someone know about halfas?" Sam asked taking over for Jazz. She scrolled back to the original post. "Nobody's ever talked about them before. Other than us no one knows they exist."

Sam was bothered by the thought that someone might have known about Danny's secret. Even Danny's parents, well established ghost hunters, had never thought up the possibility of halfas. It didn't even seem possible to her, and she knew three of them!

"Who would even think this . . ." Sam stopped in her rant as realization hit her.

"Maybe people are just toying around with theories. No one online seems to think it's really possible," Jazz frowned at the expression Sam was making. "Other than us, Vlad and Dani, who else would know. There's no way anyone else knows, right?"

"Valerie," Sam nearly hissed.

"Who?" Jazz began searching her mind for why the name seemed so familiar. "Oh, she's a friend of yours right? Danny told her he's half-ghost too. I thought she hated ghosts."

"Valerie's not a friend," Sam quickly corrected, all pleasantry absent from her voice. "She hates ghosts and she hates Danny Phantom. She's recently found out about halfas, I bet she's posted this in hopes of drawing Danny out into another trap."

Jazz crossed her arms and gave Sam a skeptic look.

"If she hates Danny so much, why would she join a fan site for him?"

Sam wanted to point out the obvious answer to that question, but decided to argue from another point.

"She's the only other person I could think of spreading the idea of halfas around. Think about. Vlad wouldn't gain anything from telling people halfas are real and neither would Danny's cousin. Valerie is the only person who'd be dumb enough to say that online."

"I don't know," Jazz read the first post again. "But then again I don't know Valerie well enough. Does she go to our school?"

Sam was shocked Jazz didn't know. Had Danny not told her? Maybe there was a reason, and hopefully one she didn't need to be jealous over.

"Yeah . . ."

"I'm missing a large chunk of the story aren't I?" Jazz smiled knowingly. Sam was jealous, and it was transparent in all her actions. Jazz then let what little information she had sink in. Danny mentioned a ghost hunter finding out about Dani last night, and now Sam was freaking out about Valerie. Logic said the two were one in the same, but she wouldn't bother Sam with that knowledge now. The crucial issue was dealing with so many Phantom Phans finding out halfas were real, assuming the original poster had proof of their existence.

"You know what, Sam," Jazz rose from the table. "Forget about it. I'll keep an eye on the posts tonight and let you know if anything sounds serious. No use getting worried over something that might not be happening, right?"

Sam looked to the older girl and sighed. She wanted to rebuttal the redheads argument, but Jazz was quicker on the draw.

"You don't want your jealousy clouding your thinking."

"I'm not jealous of Valerie!"

"Well, you are jealous that she's apparently spending more time fighting ghosts than you," Jazz closed her computer and came in front of the goth girl now standing in pure defiance. "Being there hasn't been a single ghost attack this week, your mind is in hyper drive trying to create something from nothing. The fact that you're so upset over a fansite post and you're blaming it on Valerie proves you're subconscious is trying to make up for the lack of adventure."

"It's getting late; I should be going." Sam grunted in response. She made her way to the door followed only by Jazz's words.

"Don't be so quick to draw such gloomy conclusions."

Sam left the Fenton's home slightly disappointed Danny didn't come back downstairs to see her out. Had it not been for it getting so close to 10 o'clock she would have went up to check on him, but there were no ghost attacks and no reason to be hanging out tonight, especially with a book report due soon.

Walking home, Sam couldn't help but wonder if maybe Jazz was right. She was starting to sound more like her own mother, worried about every lurking shadow even if it was her own. Sam didn't want to be like that . . . Danny had enough to worry about without her alerting him to some stupid fan's fantasies.

"Fine, next time I start getting freaked out I won't rush to conclusions."

So why did she have such a sinking feeling about her own advice.

* * *

(A/N) Thank you for reading chapter two. Please let me know what you think, and I'll see you next month.


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